by Leya in West Virginia
Manic depression has ruined my life in so many ways. I have suffered a divorce, lost many jobs and had to change my life path because of this disorder. I planned as an adolescent to become an attorney. I was an honor student with real potential. Then manic depression set in. As a result, I became a failing student and was left to attend a business school rather than a four-year university.
by Kathy in North Carolina
Several years ago, I experienced chronic depression in which I could no longer function at work and at home. The painful symptoms of depression were so extreme that I tried to take my own life. Months before this happened, I sought out professional help, but without insurance I ended up in a mental health system being treated with no understanding and no empathy from the counselor who assisted me. I walked out of the counselor's office even more depressed.
by Jennifer in Texas
My first diagnosis of depression was at age 24. I was starting my final year of college and found myself completely devoid of motivation. This was not my usual behavior. I was scared. I had no idea what was wrong with me. All I knew was, I felt hollow. I just wanted sleep, food, and to be left alone.
by Elizabeth in Florida
My mental illness has affected me in so many ways. My relationship is what is hurting the most. I have a fiancé and two kids - a 2 two-year old and an infant of 4 months. I love my fiancé so much, but I'm afraid that if I don't do something about this that he will give up on me and leave.
by Joan in New York
I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 49. What triggered my diagnosis was a colleague's suicide. My mother had a mental illness and was suicidal, but I had never disclosed her illness to anyone except my closest friends.
by Ellen in Massachusetts
My story is a story of others holding hope for me for a very long time until I could find hope for myself and find the meaning of hope. Basically, my story started the day I was conceived, but it came to fruition in 1981. I graduated from high school in 1981 and to a lot of people's surprise I applied for college. To my surprise, I received a scholarship from my school's booster club and off to college I went.
by Claire in Idaho
Although I still struggle severely with depression and oftentimes am suicidal, it is a huge part of me. I wouldn't be me without it. It gives me a strange perspective on life, often a very negative one, but when I receive my moments of clarity, I can really see what there is to this place we call life.
by Shannon in Maryland
I was always a melancholy child, but my senior year in high school caught me up in a whirlwind of anxiety and despair. This subsided into a psychotic depression leaving me totally unable to function and convinced that I should kill myself for the good of my family. After being hospitalized and starting on antidepressant and antipsychotic medications, I recovered and graduated from high school the following year with high honors.
by Louise in Pennsylvania
At the time I began college, I had been contending with depression, anxiety, and self-injury for five years. I found myself in the ideal place where, for the first time in my life, I truly felt that I belonged. However, rather than an improved mood, I continued to decline.
by Lisa in North Carolina
I remember very well the reason I started falling apart. I was in nursing school, working two part-time jobs, and my mother was very sick. Within a matter of 24 hours, I lost my mom, and I got kicked out of nursing school because of low grades. After these losses, I became very depressed, suicidal, and homicidal.
